Page 88 of The Vampire's Thirst
“You don’t strike me as love material.”
A thin grin slid onto Lort’s face. “I’m not.”
Rumor said Lort kept a human male as a blood slave. Roark figured it fit his cruel nature to sink fang in an unwilling partner.
“Tomorrow, we gather at the Arisen Dawn garrison. I’ll let you pick your unit and begin training them. In the afternoon, all officers will meet in my tent to plan the next operation. Since I have promoted you, your attendance is mandatory. We wasted quite a few resources coming through here in Bozeman, but the shock and awe were worth it. The humans will be quaking in their combat boots, especially after the escapees have their fun. But, as you observed, they will also judge us as disorganized, relying on savagery rather than strategy.”
Lort shadowflashed his way to a portal.
The air around Roark shimmered with an explosion of color. When it settled, he had a beak, talons, and feathers. His raven took to the sky, feeling free as it flexed gigantic black wings. It soared high to catch a current. Riding from one to another, it passed over Bozeman several times. With sharp eyes, it spotted Arisen Dawn invaders spreading through the streets of the city, looking for humans. When they found them, they fed, leaving bodies to rot.
But the American soldiers were fanning out through the Montana town, taking aim when they caught up with an Aeternal. They decapitated each kill, a valuable lesson already learned.
The raven screeched as it passed in front of the sun, using bright light to shield its presence.
Chapter Nineteen
Millercradled the cellphone to his ear as he leaned against an old building in an alley in Kansas City, the latest stop as he kept one step ahead of Cerberus’s men. Rein was right. Most likely, they were tracing him through his blood. How long could he last? Braelyn’s muscle-bound bloke told him to come in, to have a mage spell him so the bad guys couldn’t find him. He wasn’t ready yet. Soon.
“Chiara Bianchi,” he said. “Got her name from a tracker who just got back to me about a cold, cold case. I forgot about the girl. Her parents died in an auto accident. Afterward, she was in foster care where Custodes Templiikept an eye on her. Bianchi went missing from a group home over ten years ago when she was still in her teens. Do you think Cerberus has had her that long?”
Muffled sounds came from Braelyn’s end as she obviously consulted with her egotistical mate. “Rein just told me a Firebrand stumbled across a woman in Idaho. Bad led to worse, and now she’s on the run with him. Her first name is Chiara, not a common name, but the last name isn’t right. This woman’s last name is Flores.”
“You’re right. The first name is pretty distinctive. This one’s personal, luv. My guy has never given up on the kid. The mother wasCustodes Templii, a tracker when she died in the car crash. It was an accident, but the woman and the daughter belong to us. They’re a special case.”
“If Chiara changed her last name, you may be able to write her off your list. I’ll get back to you once they get to Scath. Also, we have Finley Sage coming with her. Still no Celene, but we’re looking for her. Jace is helping on that one. None of the other names of missing have surfaced yet.”
Miller waited through a long pause. “Still there, luv?”
“Please let us protect you.”
The song was getting old, but he knew it was time to leave Kansas City before the Aeternals got to him again. To the ex-British agent, his freedom meant everything. Going to Scath, a human among supes, was not his idea of a fun time. Was that vanity? Sure. So what? He didn’t want to be the bloke on the bottom of the food chain. Soon, though. He was running out of choices.
“Luv?”
“Yes, Miller.”
He liked the soft sound of Braelyn James’s voice. It calmed him, helped him feel not so alone. Too bad His Nibs the vamp got to her first. She was a beautiful woman with her short spiky auburn hair and freckles which raced across her nose. “If they find me one more time, I’ll come in. You can bury me on Scath, a nobody among somebodies.”
“It’s not so bad here. In fact, it’s pretty great. New places to travel. Lots to see.”
“Yeah? How out of place do you feel? You know, a human among nons.”
“I’m not so human anymore, Miller. It’s hard to admit, but I’m changing every day. I’m somehow more. Not less. It sounds frightening, but…”
“Not sure I want to give up my humanity, luv. It’s the best thing I’ve got going for me. Nearly lost it in Iraq. Not eager to slip again. The next slide could be a long one into darkness.”
“You won’t be alone here, Miller. We all have that fear, but you know what?”
“What?”
“No one has become evil. The closest is Abello, but he was that way before.” She chuckled.
It was a nice sound. Warm. Friendly. It almost made him change his mind.
“I worry about you,” Braelyn said.
He nodded, knowing she couldn’t see the gesture. Miller was tired. He’d seen the world many times over. Sometimes while working for British intelligence. Sometimes while tracking his charges. Recently, while running. Tired. Worn thin. He didn’t fear dying at the end of Cerberus’s blade.Hell. He wasn’t even afraid of torture. He worried they could turn him into someone he wouldn’t like. He had it in him. The cruel inhumanity. The sense of evil, eating at his insides. What if they uncovered it and used it?Yes. That was what he feared. He hadn’t liked it when it had grown in him before.
